It’s officially October tomorrow. I’m not ashamed of my premature festive-sprinkle-madness.
Pardon my recipe-repeat today. Although I’m sure you never saw the originals posted back in March. Thankfully we’re nearing Halloween because those old photos may give you a fright!
I figured I’d showcase the brownie bites for you again because (1) I wanted to bake these brownies and (2) I want you to bake these brownies.
Get it? Got it. Good.
Whether they are bite sized, oversized, or regular… I’m pretty picky about my brownies.
Actually, it’s the brownie texture I’m particular about.
You see, brownies come in all different forms. They may be cake-like, fudgy, chewy, moist, dense, greasy, or dry. Or a weird combination of all of the above.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: I prefer my brownies so chewy and so fudgy that they taste like a dense chocolate frosting you can eat with a fork. Not greasy, not cakey, and certainly not dry. Eww.
But it’s an arduous task to find a homemade brownie recipe that is fudgy, but not greasy. Tender, but not cakey. Chewy, but not dry. Luckily, I have a no-fail homemade brownie recipe encompassing all that.
A recipe that has won my heart for years.
My brownie selling points: this recipe uses melted quality chocolate instead of cocoa powder, thus producing an extremely rich, intense chocolate flavor without drying the brownie out. I also use as little flour as possible, so I can avoid a cakey brownie. There’s also NO mixer needed! Simply melt the butter and chocolate and add the remaining ingredients.
Easy peasy.
To make the brownie bites, I simply cut the baked and cooled brownies into tiny squares. You could also cut them into rectangles or use cookie cutters to make assorted shapes.
I chill my brownie bites before I dip them because they are much too delicate to dip into heavy chocolate when they are room temperature.
For dipping my goodies, whether it is chocolate covered pretzels or today’s brownies, I almost always use Ghirardelli Baking Bars. These bars are good quality chocolate and melt very easily. Plus, I can usually find them on sale and stock up.
The amount of chocolate in my pantry at any given time is startling.
Now comes the fun part! After you melt the chocolate, simply dip the top of the chilled brownie bite into it.
Did I even need to type that out?!
Then you can go sprinkle-crazy with your brownie bites! Use any sprinkles your heart desires. For today’s brownies, I used my collection of Halloween sprinkles. Pretty!
I need to admit that it’s not the double dose of chocolate that sold me on this recipe.
It was the sprinkles.
Obviously.
A chocolate treat to add to your holiday recipe arsenal, these brownie bites are sure to be gobbled up by kids and adults alike. I plan to wrap them up in little treat bags for my coworkers and friends during the holidays.
Friends reading this post: please act surprised.
*If you prefer, you may use a boxed brownie mix instead the homemade brownies. I promise, I won’t be mad.
8 ounces coarsely chopped bittersweet (or semi-sweet) chocolate (I used 2 4 oz Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Baking Bars)
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
For Dipping
Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 11 x 7 inch baking pan (or 13 x 9 inch baking pan for thinner brownies) with cooking spray. Set aside.
Melt butter and semi-sweet chocolate in a medium saucepan on medium heat, stirring constantly (about 6 minutes). Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature (about 15 minutes).
Stir sugar into cooled chocolate/butter mixture until combined. Add in the eggs one at a time, whisking until smooth after each addition. Whisk in the vanilla. Gently fold in the flour and salt. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top with a knife. Bake for approx 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out *almost* clean.
Allow brownies to cool completely (I stuck mine the refrigerator for 1 hour) and cut into bite-sized squares using a cold knife for clean cuts. Allow to chill the brownie bites for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. The bites must be cold when you dip them.
When the brownie bites are chilled, begin to dip them. In a medium size bowl, melt the chocolate chips or baking chocolate for about 30 seconds in microwave, stirring every 10 seconds. Microwave for longer until chocolate is completely smooth.
Dip brownie tops into melted chocolate and decorate with sprinkles. Chill in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes until chocolate is hardened.
Notes
I kept my brownie bites in the refrigerator. They are good up to one week stored covered.